"Senator Tom Libous, a champion of fracking in the New York Legislature, is blocking a bill that would delay drilling for natural gas for at least two more years. Passage of the measure would harm the prospects of a real-estate company founded by Libous’s wife and run by a business partner and campaign donor."

Piccirilli’s company stands to gain if the 60-year-old Binghamton Republican senator stymies opponents of fracking, in which water, sand and chemicals are injected into rock to free gas. Da Vinci II would get a share of the revenue stream from any well, and the value of the land could rise."